AOL Leads Campaign to Gain Access
To Broadband Lines for the Internet

WASHINGTON -- America Online Inc. is preparing to wage a lengthy and multifaceted regulatory war to gain access to the fat Internet pipelines controlled by cable-television companies.

In what may be the first sophisticated lobbying campaign by an Internet company, AOL is leading an effort to assemble a coalition tentatively titled "Open Net." The group will urge lawmakers and regulators to require that cable-TV lines be opened to all competitors seeking to provide high-speed Internet service via "broadband"...